Day 47 - Acts 16

After reading Acts 16 I have a whole new world of respect for the apostle Paul (and you should, too).  This is part one of two posts that I will putting up on Constantly Dodging Monotony today. 


You ready? I am. Let's go!

Acts 16 (Read it here)

We're about to follow Paul on his second missionary journey with Silas, which totaled about 2,800 miles, twice as long as the first journey in Acts 13-14.  Just for perspective, this journey is longer than a trip from the coast of NC to Los Angeles!  If you would like to have an idea of what this journey looked like on a map, check that out here. You may want to refer back to this map later, as well. If not, the cities I mention may be useless information to you.

I still find it quite amazing that Paul chose to go back to Lystra where he was nearly stoned to death but he had good reason to do so.  There was a young, emerging and respected leader named Timothy that Paul wanted to mentor (the books of 1 & 2 Timothy are letters that Paul wrote during this mentorship, by the way).

Luke mentions that Timothy is circumcised before joining Paul and Silas on their journey.  (v. 3) Since Timothy's father was Greek, he had not been circumcised but Paul didn't want that to be an issue of contention with any Jew that they might come across.  Also, I bet you his mom didn't mind her son getting circumcised, either, even though Timothy was probably in his early 20s at the time.

Even so, its kind of ironic that after Timothy's circumcision, they go town to town telling all the Jews and Gentiles that circumcision was no longer a requirement. (v. 4) Don't forget the four new requirements were being instituted, too (no eating of food, meat or blood offered to idols and avoiding fornication and prostitution).

The churches outside Jerusalem continued to grow daily! (v. 5) How many churches can say they grow daily...or even weekly?

Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke must have been in constant prayer because they felt led by the Spirit not to stop in the province of Asia (v. 6, not to be confused with modern-day Asia, this land today is Turkey). They make their way to the northeast border of modern-day Turkey coming considerably closer to Byzantium or what is known now as Instabul, the capital city.  However, they again felt it was not in God's best interest to preach there at that time. (v. 7)

 

At the seaport of Troas, Paul had a vision that a man in Macedonia in northern Greece needed his help. (vs. 8-9) God had definitely led them to the right place because Troas would be the place to catch a ship across the Aegean Sea to Greece. (The use of the word we in verse 10 is how we can assume that Luke, the writer of Acts was actually present with Paul, Silas and Timothy.)

 

The next day they landed in Neapolis, in the northeast portion of the province of Macedonia. (v. 11)

Are you following along with the map?

 

They came to the Roman colony of Philippi (v. 12), which would be the first time that the gospel of Jesus Christ was preached in Europe.  There was no synagogue to meet at, mind you, so they went to a popular meeting place for prayer hoping to catch a crowd to preach to. (v. 13)  They sat down with some women and one in particular, Lydia, who was a God-fearer (remember, this is a person who follows God as He was revealed in the Old Testament but not Jesus) and told her about Jesus. (v. 14)

She accepted Jesus that day and baptized there at the riverbank! (v. 15)

The next time they went down to the riverbank they met a slave girl who made a lot of money for her masters as a fortune teller. She must have been a little off because Luke calls her demon-possessed. (v. 16) She followed Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke everywhere they went and shouted (in what may have seemed ironically helpful, but then again, would you want a demon-possessed girl as your spokesperson?), “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” (v. 17)

This happened continuously day after day. Paul finally got fed up with it and commanded the demon to come out of her in Jesus' name. And it did! (v. 18)

The girl's owners were ticked. Her ability to tell fortunes was what made her valuable to them. So they brought Paul and Silas (they did most of the teaching; Timothy was being mentored and Luke probably filled the role of an assistant/historian) to the local authorities. (v. 19) These men, like so many others before, began to exaggerate and stretch the truth. They also try to manipulate the authorities into arresting them now by saying that they were being taught to disobey the Roman government. (vs. 20-21)

Nothing is said about exactly where Timothy and Luke are at this point. We don't even know if they were present during this accusation.

The accusers must have been saying these things in public because mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas. (v. 22) They were to be beaten with wooden rods, probably very similar to caning which is still practiced in southeast Asia, and thrown into prison. (v. 23) They were held in the lowest cell underground (the dungeon) and they were put into the stocks. (v. 24, which probably looked similar to this)

To my complete amazement, even though they were no doubt beaten to a bloody pulp, Paul and Silas were still ministering to the inmates and worshiping God by praying and singing songs to God! (v. 25)

Then...

God...

shows up!

An earthquake shook the prison so hard that every door flew open and every chain fell off every prisoner! (v. 26) The woke up to see all the doors open and he immediately knew that he would be put to death for this, so he drew his sword to do the duty himself. (v. 27)  But Paul stopped him and told him that they were still there. (v. 28)

The jailer knew exactly what Paul and Silas were being held for, so he ran down to the dungeon and threw himself at their feet and asked “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (vs. 29-30)

Their response was simple, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household." (v. 31) 

Pause. Wait a minute!

Did they really just say that if he believed in Jesus that his family automatically would be saved, too?  Does that mean that if one person in a household accepts Jesus then all the others are lopped in by God no matter what they actually believe? How does that work?

Yes and no.

Yes, they did mean what they said, "you will be saved, along with everyone in your household." In the culture that we're reading into, the man of the household had the supreme authority to lead his family as he saw fit. In other words, if the man of the house became a Christ-follower, inevitably, his family would follow suit because they loved and trusted the father of the home.

 

I say no because in my questioning I used the term automatically and the phrase no matter what they believe. It is the man's responsibility during this time-period, and still is in today's society (or the woman's, if she's a single mother) in my opinion, to instruct his family about morality, Jesus and the love of God.  Paul and Silas were correctly assuming that this jailer had the authority to lead his family spiritually.  Was it an automatic process? No. Would the views of the family change? Yes.

 

Press play.

It is easy to miss that the jailer has Paul and Silas meet his entire family IN HIS HOME! (v. 32) Can you imagine a jailer having convicted criminals in his house and the conflict of interest that would cause? Yet, the jailer cared for their wounds and then Paul and Silas baptized every single member of his family! (v. 33) They celebrated by sharing a meal together. (v. 34)

The jailer brought them back to the prison just in time for the city officials to release them. (v. 35) But Paul refused to just leave. They were beaten before even given a trial! That is not how Roman citizens should be treated. (v. 37; Philippi, like most places, was under Roman rule at this time) Apparently, the authorities thought Paul and Silas were Jewish. The officials could've faced really stiff punishment for their actions if Paul were to report them to Rome.

Paul demanded a face-to-face apology from the city officials and the officials did just that. (v. 39)  After this Paul and Silas returned back to Lydia's home where they met up with believers before leaving town. (v. 40)

Come back to see where they go next and what happens in Acts 17!

 

 

Questions

1.) Jesus never traveled more than 200 miles from his birthplace but his followers now are all over the world, from the Americas to China and everywhere else in between.  How much of an influence do you think missionaries play in spreading the gospel of Jesus? Have you ever thought about doing missionary work in another country? Why or why not?

2.) Paul and Silas are beaten and thrown into prison for preaching the gospel, yet that night they are heard by the inmates praying and singing songs to God! How do you think you would have responded to if you were the one in the stocks in prison after being beaten? In other words, are you still thankful to God even though terrible things happen to you? Why or why not?

3.) The jailer immediately shares the good news with his family by having Paul and Silas over at his house! Are you able to blur the lines when it comes to something like this? For instance, if you were told it were illegal to pray in school or in a public place, would you silence your faith or what?  In the jailer's case, what would've happened if he would've followed the rules?

Day 46 - Acts 15

Just in case you haven't noticed, I only posted three chapters this past week.  No worries, though, I have some time off from work coming up tomorrow and Wednesday which will give me an opportunity to do some double-posting to catch up.


We are half-way through Acts and, before you know it, we'll be in Matthew! So let's go!


Acts 15 (Read it here)

While Paul and Barnabas were away on their missionary journey some men began teaching Gentile believers something pretty controversial. They basically were teaching that all Gentiles men (non-Jewish) had to be circumcised in order to be accepted by God. (v. 1) This was an Old Testament requirement by God as a way of distinguishing people from the community of Israel from those outside. (See Genesis 17:7-14) In blunt terms, these men said that having foreskin on a man's penis separated him from God and the possibility of being saved.

Paul, who used to be the stingiest follower and teacher of the Law as a Pharisee, thought this was ridiculous! He and Barnabas completely disagreed with this teaching! But there was not complete agreement between the sides; the debate couldn't be settled. The church decided that the apostles needed to be asked their opinion on this matter. (v. 2)

They were graciously welcomed at the church in Jerusalem. However, not long after giving the church an update on how the Gentiles were accepting Jesus by the masses, other Pharisees who had become Christ-followers stood up in defense of the Old Testament law of circumcision. (vs. 4-5)

After hearing a debate back and forth, the apostles (the remaining disciples of Jesus and the leaders they had appointed over the church) met together to talk this out. (v. 6)

When the apostles and elders returned, the apostle Peter addressed the gathered crowd.  He reminded them that God had given him a vision of how he shouldn't discriminate Gentiles from Jews. The Gentiles were not to be treated as demonic, unclean people. The kicker, though, is that God has been showing his acceptance of the Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit! (v. 8) For when hearts come to faith in Christ, the heart makes the person (body and all) acceptable to God and worthy of salvation! (v. 9) From now on Jews and Gentiles are equals!

Peter insisted that requiring this law now would be a challenge to God's new covenant which was introduced by Jesus at the last supper in Luke 22:20. (v. 10) This covenant replaces the old covenant. Accepting Jesus and the purpose of his sacrifice is way more powerful than any removal of foreskin. All people are saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus.

By the way, who would want to circumcise these grown men anyway? Ouch!

When Peter had finished, James furthered his points by suggesting that the conversion of Gentiles was a fulfillment of prophecy. The prophet Amos, who lived about 800 years prior to this time, predicted a day where God would reach out in acceptance towards the rest of humanity (non-Israelites) and James suggested that that day had come! (vs. 13-17)

And since James was the bishop (or pastor) of the church in Jerusalem, he made the decision that requiring circumcision was not biblical anymore. (v. 19) However, it was decided that the Gentiles should not eat food or meat and blood from any strangled animals offered to false gods. They also should not engage in sexual immorality (which would primarily include avoiding pre-marital sex [fornication] and prostitution). (v. 20)

You may ask, "Why these four rules?"

It may sound like a random selection to appease the Pharisees in the crowd, but these four guidelines are very specific and intricately linked to one another.

Do not eat any food or the meat and/or blood from a strangled animal refers to things that are being sacrificed to a false god or idol, we understand that. That food is tainted.  However, outside most of the temples where these activities took place were prostitutes.  One way of worshiping the false gods of the area was to engage in sex during the services! No lie! One of the main reasons why many false deities permitted and even promoted such a practice was for a fertility blessing. Having sex in front of these idols was thought to be a way for a man to assure that he stays fertile and able to have children.

Simply put, these rules made it impossible for the new Gentile believers to follow Jesus and the false idols. They had to choose one way or the other. God is still a jealous god. (Exodus 20:5)

The apostles and elders thought that all Gentile believers should know what they had decided. So they sent two men, Judas and Silas, with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch (v. 22, where they started their journey in Acts 13)

These men took a letter containing their decision that also was signed by all of the apostles and church leaders. (v. 23) Within the letter, the apostles and church leaders specifically said that the teaching that was going around (that Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved) was totally not from them or God. (v. 24) Apparently Gentiles were already questioning as to whether this teaching was valid or not. (v. 27)

The four requirements were laid out for all Gentiles within the letter (v. 29) and were delivered to the believers of Antioch. (v. 30) There was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message. (v. 31) Of course they were excited! No one had to be circumcised! Can you imagine such a thing without modern drugs or anesthetics?

In verse 36 Paul wanted to go back with Barnabas to all the cities that they had gone to in their journey together to check up on the believers. (v. 36) Barnabas was all for it but wanted to take along his cousin, Mark again. (v. 37) Paul wasn't cool with that since Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. (v. 38) Luke is unclear as to what the exact circumstance was when Mark left them in Acts 13:13 but we do know that when Paul was stoned and Barnabas helped him back into the city of Lystra, Mark was nowhere to be found.

Yet, Mark was Barnabas' cousin, so he insisted that he be allowed to accompany them again. The disagreement separated the two.  Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus while Paul and Silas joined forces and went to Syria. (vs. 39-40) Perhaps, to Barnabas, blood was indeed thicker than water (even though Paul had shed blood with him).




Questions






1.) If circumcision is no longer a big deal to God, then what does that mean for tattoos and piercings? Are they frowned upon by God or just something that traditional church people fuss about? Why do you think that?


2.) The apostles and church leaders gave the Gentiles requirements on following God which made it impossible to serve both God and the false gods of the area. Are there things that you find difficult to leave behind that aren't beneficial to you in order to wholeheartedly follow God? If so, what are they? Why can't you have both of these things be your main focus?


3.) Paul and Barnabas had served God faithfully together. Barnabas had helped a battered Paul limp back to Lystra after being stoned. No doubt they were close but Barnabas' cousin, Mark, drove a wedge between them. Have you ever had that happen to you and a really close friend? From what you know about this story, who do you agree with Paul or Barnabas?

Day 45 - Acts 14

This won't be a pleasant day for Paul and Barnabas. Let's just say that Paul will end up with tattered and bloody clothes! Not to mention how bloody the ground could've been if they wouldn't have stopped the people of Lystra from slaughtering all those animals!


What am I talking about? Let's find out!

Acts 14 (Read it here)

Again, for your frame of reference, check out this map see where Paul and Barnabas are on their journey while we read through Acts 14. Today we're catching back up with them in Iconium (modern day central Turkey).

Luke wastes no time in noting that Paul and Barnabas experience the same treatment in Iconium as they did previously in Antioch of Pisidia. They preached in the local synagogue, many believed and then some Jews told lies about Paul and Barnabas. (vs. 1-2) This didn't stop them from preaching and performing miracles. (v. 3) The Jews who were slandering Paul and Barnabas became so convincing that the town was divided as to who to believe. (v. 4)

In verse 5, a group of Gentiles and Jews come with their leaders to stone Paul and Barnabas. Their leaders would sound like a human authority figure such as a mentor, priest, governor or king but the Greek word arkousin is actually describes a supernatural power or force. So, it could be accurate to say that these Gentiles and Jews came with their gods. Of course, if their "god" was present it was because that wood or stone-carved "god" was being carried. Also, arkousin could be describing that these people were led by an evil spirit! Both are plausible.

No matter who or what their leaders were, the Paul and Barnabas escaped first to Lystra (15 miles south of Iconium) and then they continued on to Derbe (70 miles southeast of Lystra) later. They continued preaching. (v. 6)

While they were preaching one time in Lystra, Paul healed a man with crippled feet. (v. 10) Most other times the crowds would be in awe or end up believing in Jesus because of this miracle but in Lystra, Paul and Barnabas were immediately worshiped by the locals. (v. 11) They thought Barnabas was Zeus (the Greek god who was the father of all gods).  I find this interesting because most of the time Paul is the one who is quoted or is said to have performed a healing. Apparently Barnabas did and said much more than we get from the book of Acts.

Yet, since Paul was the chief speaker, the locals thought he was Hermes (son of Zeus and a messenger from the gods to humanity). This brings up even more questions for me. Was Barnabas evidently older than Paul? Did Barnabas instruct Paul with what to say? Was Barnabas ultimately the one in charge?  To the people of Lystra, the answers to all three of these questions seemed to be, "yes."

The temple of Zeus was just outside of Lystra, which gives us another clue as to why the people thought of Barnabas and Paul as Greek gods first. The priest of the temple of Zeus and the crowds brought animals out to offer sacrifices to the apostles. (v. 13)


The apostles responded by tearing their clothes. (v. 14)

You might ask, "why?"  I'm glad you asked.

There are two main reasons why a Jew (Christian or not) would outwardly tear their clothes:

• It was a sign of deep sorrow and mourning over someone who had died
• When something terrible happened, an indescribable horror usually relating to apparent sin (of their own or someone else's). For example, the high priest tore his clothes in when he heard Jesus claim he was the Son of God in Matthew 26:64-65.

Barnabas and Paul (like Peter had to do with Cornelius earlier) told them that they were merely human beings! In fact, the gospel they were sharing about Jesus was supposed to inspire them to turn away from false gods altogether! Zeus is said to have created thunder and all gods but God created everything, even the people who created Zeus! (v. 15)

In verses 16 and 17, we get a glimpse of God in the Old Testament who focused most of His attention on Israel. Many times Israelites were commanded not to mingle with or marry anyone from another race so that their gods wouldn't lead them astray.  BUT NOW, God wants to have a relationship with those people who worship false gods. It is no longer about hating those who are different but reaching them!

The people really didn't want to listen, though. They wanted to offer sacrifices; its all they knew. (v. 18)

Bad news.

The same Jews from Antioch and Iconium who were starting trouble for Paul and Barnabas joined forces and arrived in Lystra to stone Paul. (v. 19) I don't know why Barnabas wasn't stoned, too. I suppose they wanted to kill Paul since he was the 'messenger.'

Do you remember how gruesome the process of stoning was? (If you don't remember, you can refresh yourself here)

Luke says that the believers gathered around Paul (I understand this as circling around and praying for him, but I could be wrong) and that he simply got up. But get this, he didn't escape! He went back into the town where he was just stoned!! (v. 20)
 

After successful preaching in Derbe, Paul and Barnabas decided to return to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch (I don't know if I would've gone back there after Paul's near death, but they did) to encourage the new believers. Paul was a perfect reminder of how the believers were to suffer hardships for their faith. (vs. 21-22)

At each city (Lystra, Iconium and Antioch) they appointed elders, or pastors, for each new church. (v. 23)

They made their 1,400 mile journey back to Antioch of Syria, where they had begun. (v. 26) Paul and Barnabas retold all the stories and, especially, about how many Gentiles had received the gospel and became believers. There were now churches in those cities! (v. 27) Of course, Paul had some cool scars to show off after his stoning, too.


Questions

1.) King Herod had died of scabies for accepting worship previously in Acts 12. Paul and Barnabas had to reject and correct the misdirected worship in Lystra from the followers of Zeus.  Do you ever find yourself taking too much credit? Do you openly give credit to God for the things, abilities, etc that you have? What's the danger if you don't credit God for those things?

2.) You now know the two main reasons why Jews would tear their clothing (horror or mourning).  What is the American equivalent of this kind of reaction? And what situation(s) would make you react with such horror or sorrow?

3.) Paul is stoned but goes directly back to the same city in which it just happened? Do you revisit places where you have had negative experiences? Do you avoid people who have treated you harshly? What can we learn from Paul's example here? He goes back twice and even encourages the believers there!

Day 44 - Acts 13

After working eight straight days I decided to take two days of from posting, however, I do have a plan to make up some time. Over the next few days you might see two posts on one day. Don't worry, read as much as you want. This is just to keep us on the 2-year schedule.

We'll start to follow Saul (or as you'll see in Acts 13 he begins to be referred to as Paul) and Barnabus on their missionary journey.  They are in for a wild ride. They are on a mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentile world since many Jews had rejected the faith.


You ready for this trip? So am I!


Acts 13 (Read it here)


Just in case you're curious, you can see the summary map of Paul & Barnabas' missionary journey here. This map covers all of Acts 13 and half of chapter 14, as well.

To get a true appreciation for what Paul and Barnabas did, you have to realize that their journey included walking over 1,400 miles! That's roughly the distance between Washington, DC and Houston, TX! All the while they are stopping at multiple cities and preaching to people they don't even know!

Let me give you a little background on the men referred to in Acts 13:1.

Barnabus
First mentioned in Acts 4, Barnabas (which was his nickname, his given name was Joseph) was a Greek-speaking Jew from Jerusalem (an oxymoron of sorts). Some early church fathers, most notably Tertullian, credited Barnabas as being the author of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament. This is plausible since Barnabas was Paul's right-hand man on several missionary journeys and Hebrews' contents are so similar to all of Paul's other writings.

Simeon (also known as Niger, pronounced Ny-jer)
Simeon is not to be confused with the priest mentioned in Luke 2 who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Messiah.  Simeon, or Niger, was the second bishop of Jerusalem, after the first bishop, James (the writer of the book of James in the New Testament) was stoned by the same high council that killed Stephen. The bishop of Jerusalem was known as the central Christian leader of the church in Jerusalem, which was an elected position voted on by the believers in Jerusalem.  And yes, his name is the word from Latin niger (which means black) that Americans get the common hate-filled racial slur to African-Americans.

Lucius from Cyrene
This is the first time Lucius is mentioned by name but he was the first bishop of Cyrene (modern day Northeastern Libya). He was one of the first Christ-followers who began preaching to Gentiles about Jesus. Just so you know, a bishop in this time of the Early Church, was responsible for overseeing the church, teaching and rebuking its members/believers, must like a modern-day pastor.

Manaen, the childhood friend of King Herod Antipas
Very little is known about Manaen.  What we do know is that he was adopted by the royal family of Israel, which is why he is listed as a friend and not a biological brother of King Herod.  He was also one of the central teachers of the church in Antioch (modern day Turkey), which was attributed as being the "cradle of Gentile Christianity."

Saul
Saul, who from now on will be referred to as Paul, was a leading Pharisee who spearheaded the persecution of the Early Church after the stoning of Stephen.  However, after being converted by Jesus himself, became one of the most influential early church planters, leaders, teachers and preachers.  He is known for writing the majority of the New Testament including the epistles (which are formal teaching letters directed to a group of people, church) of Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Philemon and the pastoral epistles (formal teaching letters directed to leaders of churches) 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus.


Take a breath.

Simeon, Lucius and Manaen commission Paul and Barnabas for the special work that God had for them. (vs. 2-3)

Their first stop was in the town of Salamis on the island of Cyprus (check the map linked above) to preach in the Jewish synagogues. John Mark, otherwise known as Mark the Evangelist, was there. (v. 5) He was Barnabas' cousin and the writer of the gospel of Mark, by the way. We'll cover his book after Acts and Matthew.

In Paphos, Paul, Barnabas and Mark meet a magician named Bar-Jesus. (v. 6) Ironically, his full name was Elymus, son of Jesus (Jesus and Joshua were names that were almost the same, like saying Sean and Shawn). Elymus is Arabic for wise. Bar-Jesus was probably used by the governor, Sergius Paulus, for wise counsel or possibly the other way around since the governor is said to be an intelligent man. (v. 7)

The governor had obviously heard about the great response Paul and Barnabas had received in Cyprus so he wanted to hear the word of God for himself. Bar-Jesus tried to persuade the governor to ignore their teaching. (v. 8)

Paul, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, looked Bar-Jesus dead in the eye. (v. 9) Can you imagine the intensity that Paul had on his face? He was filled with the power of God in that instance. Bar-Jesus was in for it! Paul knew that Bar-Jesus knew the true ways of the Lord and intentionally didn't follow them or let anyone else, either. (v. 10)

Paul struck Bar-Jesus blind and he instantly begged others to lead him by the hand. (v. 11) This alone was proof enough for the governor to believe. (v.12)

It was at Perga (modern day southwestern coast of Turkey) that Mark left the company of Paul and Barnabus to return to Jerusalem. (v. 13)  Paul would mention this later in non-pleasant terms as they continued on without him to Antioch of Pisidia. (v. 14) If you look at the map again, you'll notice that this is a different Antioch than where Paul and Barnabas started from.

They went to the local synagogue and were given the opportunity to preach. (vs. 14-15) Once he was given the floor, Paul goes through the history of Israel and how God led His people through tumultuous circumstances. (vs. 17-22)

In verse 23 Paul crescendos his message by saying that Jesus, being one of King David's descendants, is God's promised Savior of Israel! This Jesus was killed even though he did no wrong. (v. 28) But by killing him the words of the Old Testament prophets were fulfilled. (v. 27) He was raised from the dead (v. 30) and appeared to many as proof of his resurrection (v. 31) and that he is truly the Savior!

He quotes the same thing Peter does in Acts 2 when he says that God's purpose was fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus because the Holy One was not to rot in the grave. (v. 35) It is through Jesus that there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God! (vs. 38-39)  The law could never do that; the law could only point out that you were imperfect but never save you!

The people within the synagogue (Jews & God-fearers) had never heard such a message. It was revolutionary!  The law couldn't save you, only faith in God's sent Savior, Jesus could!  For once the pathway to salvation was clear and it was through faith not works.

Everyone wanted Paul and Barnabas to come back the following weekend to teach more and they did. (vs. 42, 44)

Paul and Barnabas became overnight celebrities. Many started to follow them wherever they went but, all the while, they challenged these people to keep their focus on God, not them. (v. 43)

Their fame made some Jews jealous (obvious non-Christ followers) and they did the same thing that was done with Stephen. They spread lies about Paul and Barnabas in hopes of either making them look blasphemous and/or getting them arrested. (v. 45) But they called the Jews out by saying (and I'm paraphrasing), "Its because of people like you, who have rejected God, that we now offer eternal life to Gentiles. God Himself would rather have the Gentiles than you stubborn Jews!"


The Gentiles LOVED this and were thankful to God for the good news being preached and available to them. (v. 48) The message began to spread like crazy through that region. (v. 49)

Even though the Jews added more pressure on Paul and Barnabas by physically kicking them out of town, the believers (Paul, Barnabus and other who accepted Jesus and followed them) left full of joy and with the Holy Spirit! (vs. 50-52)


Questions

1.) Have you ever been on a mission trip? What if you were on a mission trip where you had to walk 1,400 miles? The walking time alone would take more than two weeks!  How do you think Paul and Barnabas were able to physically and mentally sustain the mission, especially when there is opposition, too?

2.) Do you remember the story of Ananias and Sapphira? They were killed by God for lying and pretending to be what they weren't.  Also, Jesus had said that anyone who leads a child astray (away from God) would be better off with a millstone around their neck and thrown into the sea! (Luke 17:2) Why do you think Bar-Jesus got off so easily?  Was his sin the fact that he knew what was right or that he didn't want others to know what was right or both?

3.) Do you find the faith to be difficult? Do you find yourself putting impossible standards on yourself because you believe that a Christ-follower has to be perfect and above reproach? Is giving yourself those standards even biblical? How would Paul and Barnabas' message to the Gentiles in Antioch of Pisidia differ from that?

Day 43 - Acts 12

I hope that you've finished all your eating and snacking for the night because the end of this post is a little disgusting.  But hey, its about what's in the Bible. I'm not making this stuff up!


Ready?

Acts 12 (Read it here)

Herod Agrippa was a king of the Jews around from about 10 BC to 44 AD. He was named after a then-famous Roman statesman and was devout in his Jewish faith (as in Judaism, not Christianity).  So much so that he was wholeheartedly willing to participate in persecuting the followers of what he and most other Jews thought was a blasphemous movement.  (v. 1) How could a man (Jesus) be God, they thought?

If only they had read and paid a little more attention to their Old Testament scriptures.

James, the brother of John, was the first apostle to be martyred. (v. 2) James was arrested for preaching in the name of Jesus and, according to the Roman historian Eusibius, was beheaded. Herod loved the attention he received for this, so he had the most influential apostle, Peter, arrested during Passover (which, ironically, was when Jesus was arrested, too).

While Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly (or as the original Greek language suggests, continuously or without ceasing) for him (v. 5) for they thought his life was in danger.

God honored the believers' prayers and sends an angel to free Peter from prison.  Apparently Peter was naked (v. 8) and definitely thought he was dreaming. (v. 9) (Do you realize that a naked Peter is chained between two guards?  He gets dressed without the guards waking up, most likely with the angel assisting their sleep.) He didn't recognize it was real until he was walking by himself down the street. (v. 10)

Peter is stoked because he expected to be executed, too. (v.11)

And wouldn't you know it, Peter goes directly to the place where everyone was praying for him! (v.12) However, a girl answers the door. Of course, no one believes her when she tells everyone that its Peter (v. 15) until they all overhear his loud knocking. (v. 16)

He told them the whole story and encouraged them to share it with the other apostles. (v. 17, by the way, the James that Peter speaks of must be James, son of Alphaeus, because the other James is dead)

From there Peter went into hiding.

Herod was ticked that Peter had escaped. The two guards that were in charge of looking after Peter were all executed, as was customary by Roman standards. (v. 19)

In what seems like a random mention of a random meeting between Herod and a delegation of people from Tyre and Sidon, Luke makes mention of Herod's downfall. Apparently, Herod got all dressed up in his royal robe and made this eloquent speech (About what? Who knows...who cares?), as stated in verse 21.

What we do know is that the people thought the speech was so good that Herod was praised as a god. (v. 22) As Luke stated before, Herod LOVED this attention so he accepted the worship gladly.  God decided to show who the real God was. Herod was struck with a sickness that filled him with worms (v. 23).  Another Roman historian, Josephus, described Herod's death as excruciating. From Josephus' descriptions of Herod's autopsy medical experts propose that Herod either died of Fournier's gangrene, scabies or a combination of both.

Before you google those terms, I'll just go ahead and tell you what happened to Herod.  He basically had flesh-eating worms (or bacteria) that ate away at the region between his kidney and anus (which also includes the bladder and genitals). 

Mmm, glad I had already had my dinner tonight.

After Herod died, the church continued to spread and grow. (v. 24)



Only 2 Questions Tonight:)

1.) What would you do if you were Peter? Would you continue preaching or would you be thankful of your escape and go into hiding permanently? What do you think Peter does?

2.) Why do you believe God punished Herod so severely for accepting worship?  Was it because of the principle, because of Herod's prominence (influence & visibility in public) or both? How do you think God deals with people who are egomaniacs like this today?

Day 42 - Acts 11

You all are blessed with the shortest blog post ever for tonight!  It is mostly a recap of what happened in Acts 10 with a little bit of added history at the end.


Let's knock this out...


Acts 11 (Read it here)

As soon as the Jewish believers in Jerusalem heard about Peter visiting and preaching to Cornelius and other Romans (Gentiles), they criticized and reminded him that the Jewish law forbade him to do such a thing. (vs. 1-3)

Peter completely recounted the details of the vision that he had received on the roof of the tanner's home in Joppa. He told them about the sheet that contained the "unclean" animals and how he was commanded to kill and eat them.  He refused to because of the Jewish dietary laws, of course.  (vs. 4-8)

Peter repeated what he heard next from heaven, "Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean." (v. 9) Right after the vision concluded three Gentile men came to the tanner's home looking for him, but he had confirmation from the Spirit that it was ok to go with them. (vs. 11-12)


Then Peter recounted exactly what Cornelius had said about an angel appearing and instructing him to find Peter in Joppa. (v. 13) And here's the kicker, even though Cornelius was a God-fearer, a guy who worshiped, revered and prayed to God, he...was...not...saved! Cornelius knew it, too, because the angel told Cornelius that Peter would "tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!" (v. 14)

The proof of God being present was when the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius' household. (v. 15) Peter's explanation more than satisfied the Jewish believers. They even began to thank God for it! (v. 18)

Some of the believers that left Jerusalem after the persecution that began after the stoning of Stephen ended up in Antioch (about 330 miles from Jerusalem). Some only preached to Jews and chose to observe the outdated Jewish law of not associating with Gentiles.  Others did not. (vs. 19-20) A huge number of Gentiles in Antioch responded and converted to the faith. (v. 21)

The apostles sent Barnabus down to Antioch to check out what was going on. (v. 22) Barnabus decided that Saul had been in exile long enough in Tarsus.  He brought Saul to Antioch and together they taught the believers in the new church for an entire year!  It was here that the believers were first called Christians (vs. 25-26, literally meaning a follower of Christ). So a Christ-follower and a Christian are one and the same.

Even though most American Christians may have never heard of Agabus, he is pretty well-known within the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches; there are actually minor holidays in his honor. The first Christian disaster relief effort ever mentioned happened during the famine that he predicted occurred around the year 45 AD. It was one of the first of many times where the Christian church would give and share outside of their community just as freely as they did within.

Saul and Barnabus were in charge of the donations from the Antioch (Gentile) church that were being given the Jewish church in Jerusalem. (v. 30) Wow, how things have changed now that Gentiles are helping the needy Jews.  I bet the Jews never thought they would need the Gentiles; instant humility. Thank God that it was His decision to reach the Gentile and not the Jewish people's.


Questions

1.) Jews were not happy that Peter preached and attributed to God's saving of a Gentile family. You would think that Christ-followers would be joyful anytime ANYONE is saved.  However, this isn't always true.  Brutally honest question here: in your opinion (maybe at your worst), do some people not deserve salvation?  If so, who and why?  For example, Jenny had this thought after seeing Schindler's List and the brutality of the SS soldiers.

2.) How do you think the Jewish church felt when the Gentile church basically became the first Christian organization to sponsor a relief effort? How do you think this will change the relationship between the Jewish and Gentile believers? Personally speaking, are there some people that you wouldn't want their help just because you don't like them? Why is that ridiculous (yes, I said that its ridiculous)?

Day 41 - Acts 10

In the next few days I am going to be putting together a few survey questions that I would love for anyone and everyone to participate in.  I want to know how you're using the contents of the blog, what is confusing, what could be better, what is beneficial and what I could cover (or go more in depth on) that would be more beneficial.  The survey will appear on Facebook. If you would like to join our Facebook group, find us here!

Thanks in advance!

Let's continue with Acts 10.


Acts 10 (Read it here)

Cornelius receives a vision from God asking him to send some of his men to find and bring Peter from Joppa. (v. 5)  Cornelius is noted as Roman officer of the Italian Regiment (which consisted of roughly 600 men) and a God-fearing man. (vs. 1-2) A God-fearer was a name given to a non-Jew that worships the God of the Jews, in other words, a follower of Judaism not Christianity. A God-fearer worshiped, had deep reverence and respect for God as He was known in the Old Testament.

Cornelius had to be a unique man.  Very few men of his stature and influence would be so humble as to worship the God of the people that his government had occupied.  And, most of the time, with tremendous power came wealth.  Jesus tells us that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God in Luke 18:25, but this guy is different. He prays, gives to the poor and has positively influenced everyone in his household.

His extraordinary character and good deeds have been recognized by God, however, we know that good deeds and following the law doesn't get anyone to heaven or earn respect from a Holy God.  In response to this truth, God wants to give Cornelius the opportunity to receive the good news of Jesus, His Son from Peter.

However, Peter doesn't particularly like Gentiles. For some reason he was fine with going to Samaria to assist Philip in preaching the word to the hated Samaritans but he doesn't want to go to Cornelius.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's back up.

Peter is still at the tanner's house. He goes up on the roof for a few moments of prayer in seclusion. (v. 9)  As he was praying he saw a vision, too.  On this sheet were a slew of different animals that were against the Old Testament law to eat. (For a complete list of the animals Jews were not permitted to eat, check out Leviticus 11.) A few of the animals that Peter could have seen were a pig, a rabbit, a frog and a hawk (or any other bird that preys on carcasses or non-fish marine life).

So, in short, Jews didn't eat bacon, bunnies, frog legs or big birds (not to be confused with this).

Don't you find it interesting now that Peter was hungry and about to eat lunch when he was seeing this vision?

In the vision Peter hears a voice saying, "Get up, kill and eat." (v. 13)

Peter refuses on account of the law, thinking it is a test. (v. 14)

It is unclear exactly who is speaking to Peter whether it be God, Jesus or an angel.  Either way, the voice has God's authority and makes it known by saying, “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” (v. 15) Peter had a little deja vu because he saw the vision a total of four times. (v. 16)

Peter was confused but he didn't time to really think on it as Cornelius' men had arrived. (v. 17) Peter was assured by the Holy Spirit that these men meant him no harm. (vs. 19-20) Cornelius' men stayed the night in Joppa and they (Cornelius' men, Peter and a few other believers) left for Caesarea the next day. (v. 23)

When they all arrived, Cornelius had already gathered his whole family and his close friends. He didn't want anyone that he cared about to miss what was about to happen. (v. 24)


When Peter entered Cornelius' home, Cornelius began to worship him but Peter quickly rebuked that behavior and told him, "I’m a human being just like you!” (vs. 25-26)

This misstep by Cornelius probably triggers Peter to think about another Jewish law that restricted him from gathering and associating with Gentiles (non-Jews). However, Peter connects the dots with his previous vision on Simon's roof and immediately knows that he is to no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean." (v. 29)

Cornelius continued to tell Peter about his vision that occurred four days ago. (v. 30; There's that word again, dazzling, which almost always denotes a supernatural being or heavenly visit.) He also told Peter the direct instructions that were given to him. (vs. 31-32) You can read the excitement in Cornelius' voice when he tells Peter that he had followed those divine instructions immediately and gathered everyone to hear the message God had given him! (v. 33)

Peter marvels at how God shows no favoritism but accepts any person who fears Him and does what is right. (vs. 34-35)  Don't get it twisted, though, that isn't what saves us or gives us eternal life (fear & good deeds).  If you were to stop reading there in verse 35, that's what you would get; a false, incomplete truth.

Peter says that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ. (v. 36) Jesus healed those who were being oppressed by the devil (v. 38, this goes to show that people were being punished for their sins by way of a deformity, disability, etc).

Peter also spoke of Jesus' resurrection from the dead and his command to preach to the nations. (vs. 40, 42) And Peter concludes with this, "everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.” (v. 43)  If amassing the most good deeds was the metric used to measure one's closeness to God, then it would be a completely self-centered measuring tool.  The more a person tries to make themselves a better person, the easier it is to think that they can be good without God; as if they could really a make a name for themselves before God.

As Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on the whole place and everyone there. (v. 44) The Holy Spirit, like God was void of favoritism, as well. Another episode like that of Pentecost happened.  Everyone there started speaking in other languages! (v. 46)  Peter immediately gives them the opportunity to be baptized right then and there (again, note that everyone there received the Holy Spirit before being baptized, baptism had no spiritual effect)!

Peter stayed with Cornelius and his family for several days. (v. 48) I can imagine that Peter had many, many hours of conversation and crash-course discipleship happening around the clock.



Questions

1.) Peter receives a vision of a multiplicity of animals being lowered on a blanket. Peter interprets this by saying that the Gentiles are not unclean as he initially had thought.  Do you think this vision has a double-meaning?  In other words, are Jews now permitted to eat bacon and frog legs, for example? Why or why not?

2.) Its easy to think that being a good person could earn you eternal life and salvation. Most non-Christians believe that is true.  This can be a difficult truth to accept because Peter says that sins are forgiven through Jesus' name (later Paul would say only through Christ's name). What do you think happens to people who don't hear about Christ but are exceptionally good people? Do you think they will be reached out to by God as Cornelius was?  What if Peter would've refused to go? What would've happened to Cornelius, his family and friends? Would they be saved? Explain.

3.) I know your noodle has to be cooked after that last question so we'll end with an easy one.  How are you?